I just bought the JIC FLT-A2 kit from Avalon Racing. Does anybody have a write up on how to install these? Thanks

 

Good choice. I ordered mine this past week and can't wait to get them. Looking at the ESM, I think the install is pretty easy. The front has 5 bolts to pull the strut and the rear has 3 bolts. The rear is only going to be a problem in terms of how difficult it is to access the strut towers. As for coilover specific steps, I think they are supposed to come set to the factory height. From there you adjust the lower perch to adjust the overall length of the strut unit. The sping seat is supposed to be just tight enough to keep the spring from moving about and should already be set when you get them. The JIC website indicates that you can move them up about 1/2 inch if you want to pre-load the spring for tuning. As for dampening, I think, and someone correct me if I'm wrong here please, is that you adjust them to their firmest setting and then backtrack 15 clicks to get to 0. This effectively resets them. You then adjust for firmness from this ground point. I think if worse comes to worse, just drop Paul and email, he seemed to be very knowledgable about these coilovers and more than willing to lend some needed advice. BTW, when did you order yours from Paul? I ordered mine Tuesday and I'm hoping they come in by next Friday, but I'm not really in a rush to install anyway since it is the middle of winter. Of course, temptation could, and probably will, get the better of me.

 

Yea I hadn't even thought about the rear strut mounting point in the trunk, that outta be fun. So basically I just take out my stock stuff, and then bolt these things right in. I talked to Paul on the phone and he was telling me something about "Seating" the coilovers. He said that there was a specific process. Then after they are "seated" or "settled"...you then set the ride height and dampening. I am not sure exactly how....hopefully someone could help. And BTW I ordered mine on Monday, we will prob. get them about the same time. I live in SC so the middle of winter doesn't really mean anything to me, it was 65 degrees yesterday.

 

Also....I don't have an ESM, and how do you get the springs out?

 

IIRC, the seating process involves involves just driving on them for 20 miles or so before adjusting them, though I can't remember where I read that so I may be mistaken. If you talk to Paul about this in more detail, can you post it here? I've attached links to some ESM sections that deal with the suspension. The part that is most important is the bolt torque required when putting everything back together. Those numbers are on the exploded views of the suspension. You don't actually have to take out the springs as the coilovers replace the entire strut unit. You just need to unbolt the strut which will contain the stock spring and other parts in a whole unit. Its looks like a very straight forward job if my understanding of everything is correct. I guess I just need to get instructions from Paul for the breakin b/c I didn't think it was anything big, but now you've got me worried. For what these things cost, I'd really like to not ruin them on the first day.


http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mpillm...spension_1.pdf
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mpillm...spension_2.pdf
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mpillm...spension_1.pdf
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mpillm...spension_2.pdf

 

For the rear your going to need a extension and a swivel to get the bolts loose with ease. There is no need to remove any of the metal parts around the rear strut bolts. As per instructions from JIC you should check settings anyway although they set them to stock height make sure they are set the same. It is best to use a set of calipers to measure the adjustments correctly. After all you don't want a lopsided car. As for the spring settling you only have to drive the car 20miles then you should remove any play in the spring adjust it so it fits with no play measure it and set the other side the same. The springs have minimal sag and will not sag anymore after being driven for approx. 20miles. The overall install is very easy with the correct tools a side note also is the anodized plate gets nicked really easy so take care when adjusting. Have anymore questions ask and I will try to answer.

 

what exactly do you mean by "remove any play in the spring"...sorry I am just a little nervous about this install. This will be my first coilover.

 

Bulldawg: I think what he means is that after you drive the car for 20 miles or so, the spring will become permanently compressed a little bit. You jack up the car and the spring will no longer be snugly surrounded by the upper and lower spring seats. You will need to adjust the lower spring seat up until there is once agan no play, or a snug fit for the spring.

SVTTODAMAX: When you say anodized plate, you mean the cadmium playing correct? Also, how long of a job do you think this is if one has all of the tools?

 

I just read through these links and I couldn't find the torque ratings on any of the bolts. Do you have them, or did I just read over them?

 

The bolt torques are on the diagrams where they show a little wrench. The second number in parentheses is ft-lbs as per the key. The X means replace after disassembly.

Front strut tower(3x): 32-38 ft-lbs [keep]
Front strut knuckle(2x): 93-114 ft-lbs [replace nut]
Rear strut tower(2x): 18-25 ft-lbs [keep]
Rear strut knuckle(1x): 80-94 ft-lbs [replace nut]

Its probably best to look over the pages I poseted to confirm these numbers.

 

No all the parts are anodized except the brackets the "gold" colored parts and the springs are painted. The anodized plate nicks easily but the cad plate does not. If you have all the correct tools it is a 3-4 hour job to install and adjust them with two people working on the car. And yes your correct about the compressing of the spring after driving 20 miles. Most important thing is measuring the sides front and back so the adjustments are equal.

 

After you install these things. Do you need an alignment? Will the Alignment shop adjust the camber or is that something that I have to do myself? If so then how?

 

You will need to do an alignment. On the A33 you can adjust out the negative camber.

Stay at -1 to -1.5 for the best handling

Regards

 

Do you still need an alignment if you keep the coilovers at stock height in the beginning? And when you say set the camber to somewhere between -1 and -1.5, do you mean that is camber you should have after the alignement? Also, how low can you lower the car without requiring a camber plate adjustment? Is there a general rule of thumb like every inch you lower, move the camber plate by so much or anything like that? I guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

Get an alignment this is your best bet for a proper install. It isn't worth the money to purchase such an expensive part if your gonna lag on the install do it right and you won't have problems.When you make suspension changes you should get an alignment when you get new tires also you should check the alignment.

 

One thing to note I just called Zeal motorsports {JIC} and talked to Mike he said to adjust the coilovers start at the full counter clockwise setting and work your way up "lowest setting". The last two clicks are not useable and will set the coilover to 15 no matter the two extra clicks. So you have seventeen clicks but the last two at firmest setting are useless.

 

Thanks, that's some good info.

 

When you refer to -1 to -1.5 what exactly do you mean....and how easy is it to adjust the camber once they are on the car? Has anyone had any tire wear problems, since the rear camber isn't adjustable

 

the numbers refer to angle of deflection from the vertical axis.

the rear is a mult-link beam axle so no camber adjustment is needed, hence no slotted camber adjustment plate up top for the rears....

sorry if this reply was slow... got sidedtracked on something else.

 

So does that mean that my back tires will look like this:

| | rather than / \ ....so basically the front is the only thing that needs to be adjusted for camber after I lower the car

 

Basically yes... Anyone else correct me if I am wrong please...
Good luck anyhow... I'm still in the "to mod or not to mod" lingo... so mine is still stock except the addition addco sway bar...

 

I just got mine in today.....man they are pretty . I noticed on those ESM pages, that is says to replace the bolts that are connected to the knuckle. How important is this, because I didn't get any hardware with the kit, I got the adjustment tools but no nuts and bolts. Is it safe to reuse all the bolts?

 

I had these coilovers put on at the JIC shop in LA and I love them. They are dead quiet and the car handles much better. I highly recommend them but make sure they are put on correctly and all 4 corners are balanced! They actually aligned the wheels with a manual type guage. The techs are trained in Japan and they really know what they are doing.

 

I got mine yesterday too and agree that they look very good, very well made product. I don't think the install is going to be very difficult, but I am somewhat worried about properly setting the coilover. Is it enough to make sure all of the springs are the same length(ie compressed the same) and to make sure the overall length of the strut is the same for the front pair and for the rear pair? I guess what I'm really asking is how important is a professional install? If I make good measurements, am I going to be fine with installing these myself? Also, looking at these, how do you adjust length without unbolting the strut from the car? Also, I have noticed that one of mine has a few nicks on the camber plate, do I need to worry about this? What is it made of, Aluminum? Same with spring? Also, I notice that I am able to move the camber plate around on the camber plate, is this normal or does it mean that it needs to be tightened more? I plan on dropping the car so that I have about a 3/4-1 inch gap front and back, what adjustment should I make to the camber plate for this? Sorry about all of the questions, but I really want these to be set up well, its not worth getting such a great product and then setting it up such that it doesn't even come close to providing what it can. Thanks for any help.

Bulldawg
I just got mine in today.....man they are pretty . I noticed on those ESM pages, that is says to replace the bolts that are connected to the knuckle. How important is this, because I didn't get any hardware with the kit, I got the adjustment tools but no nuts and bolts. Is it safe to reuse all the bolts?

The bolts aren't much money, I would replace them, just give your dealer parts department a call.

 

I've been looking at these.

Care to share how much you paid and linkage?

 

Lets hope this doesn't open the can of worms again. Lets just say that I would not like to share the price. I got mine from Paul @ Avalon Racing. Give him a call and work out a price if you are serious about these.